LUCKNOW: The BJP has shared a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in which he quoted socialist leader Karpoori Thakur, while slammCing the “opportunist” political leaders who were “close to power.”

“Kapoori Thakur ne kaha tha ki satta ke aas paas avsarvadiyon ko sharan ya tarjeeh bilkul nahi milni chahiye, warna wo mujhe ya sambandhiyon ko bhrasht karenge... (Kapuri Thakur had said that opportunists should not get any shelter or preference from those in power; otherwise, they will corrupt me or my relatives),” Modi said in the video, apparently from his rally during the 2020 Bihar elections.

Experts said BJP is highlighting Thakur's critical views, positioning them as arsenal against the “power hungry” and “corrupt” politicians in the opposition parties in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections.

The video, which was also tweeted by UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary, shows party’s bid to wheel out a ‘socialist’ narrative while countering its main rival Samajwadi Party in UP.

Political analysts viewed it as the BJP’s well-calculated attempt to nudge the opposition by reaching out to the most backward groups among the OBCs.

SP is eyeing the most backward caste groups despite being an outfit that has traditionally drawn its political power from the socio-economically powerful Yadav community.

Experts pointed out that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has been consistently whipping up his PDA (Picchda (backward), Dalit (SC), and Alpsankhyak (minority) narratives to counter the BJP’s overarching Hindutva ideology.

Political experts say the Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur seemed to be a well-measured move to reach out to the most backward sections amongst the OBCs and to counter the opposition demand for caste census.